Thirty Eight Weeks

Almost there, right? Can I get a BIG Woo Hoo??? Thank you SO much!

I won’t lie – getting to this point has been a slight challenge. Or rather, this week has been challenging. Whichever way you choose to look at it, this week’s been rough. In fact, my Mom and I were talking about that just last night when I called to tell her how our dr visit went and she remarked how this pregnancy has seemed a "bit" harder for me than my last one was. Well, yeah, I’m EIGHT years older. I was only 25 when I had my daughter. Those years really add up and make me wonder about how the ladies that are in their upper 40’s do this. It’s physically, mentally and emotionally challenging and draining and they’ve got buckets of kudos from me for doing it at that age. I just can’t imagine.

Anyway, so thirty eight weeks. Or 435 weeks by my own internal calendar – LOL! I’m nearly at the end, and loving that pretty soon I’ll be holding my sweet baby boy in my arms. I know that I should enjoy these last few days (I’m being optimistic by not saying weeks) of having him all to myself, because things will rapidly change once he’s on the outside. He’ll be noisier for one – and smellier! Just kidding. But seriously, we’re just on pins and needles to meet the little guy.

And we had a good visit at the doctor’s office yesterday, I’m telling you – I might be onto something with the negative jinxing thing. Maybe you all should try it out for yourselves and let me know if it works for you too! We got good news all around, and although labor could come any day or wait two more weeks, I’m making progress and that’s always encouraging. Here’s my stats for you:

Weight? 1 lb gain – marking a total of 18 pounds

Stretch marks? Some VERY faint silver lines on the side of my hips. That I can’t swear weren’t already there from my previous pregnancy.

Belly Button – innie/outie? I don’t even remember the days when I didn’t see my belly button through EVERYTHING that I wear.

Movement? He’s been moving and grooving all week long. In fact, he paid me back pretty good last night after the dr visit. Apparently he didn’t appreciate the intrusion into his world…

Swelling? Yes, and still mainly on my right foot. I forgot to mention last week that I finally took my wedding rings off. They’re not too tight all day, every day, but wearing them for short periods of time on my pinky finger and them flying off (in the middle of Ross) since they don’t fit that well on that finger wasn’t the smartest idea either. So I put my wedding band only on a chain that I wear around my neck since it seemed too awkward looking with both my engagement ring and my wedding band on there.

Contractions/Signs of Labor? LOTS of progress in this department. I’m totally softened, not effaced yet, my cervix has moved to the anterior (which is where you want it), he’s at a -2 station and I’m dilated to 1 cm.

Other Issues? Apparently my pelvic bones haven’t just completely softened in preparation for labor, but they’re actually starting to separate. If you’ve never experienced this (I didn’t with my first pregnancy) it’s not fun. It’s very painful. If I sit too long, or lay in one position too long (which not many positions are comfortable with this condition) I can barely walk when I stand up. And the back pain that accompanies it is just awful. This is a new thing, like within the last two days kind of new.

Sounds exciting, huh? Yeah, we were pretty pumped to hear about all of the progress that he’s made since our last visit last Thursday. But then again, I stayed at 1cm with my daughter for two weeks before labor actually started. So dilation doesn’t always mean anything, kind of like losing your mucus plug - it could mean that labor is imminent or it could still be a week or more away. I’m excited to know that my discomfort and the pains that I’m experiencing are FINALLY doing something other than making me uncomfortable, but I know that it could still be a ways away. But it’s encouraging still!

Here’s some belly shots for you…getting bigger each day…and lower – YEA! Yeah, talking about the pelvic separation thing, the doctor actually brought me to tears at the visit yesterday when we “discovered” that I was starting the early stages of this phenomenon. Apparently not all women go through it, but I know that this lady has been having troubles with it, and I don’t want to go through too much more of it. In my mind, and I’m not a medical professional, so keep in mind that my opinion is JUST my opinion, it’s sort of like a baby’s soft spots on the skull. The bones softened and prepare the pelvis for the HUGE baby coming through and can be very sensitive to the touch. As evidenced by me coming up off of the exam table and screaming with pain. But apparently my “soft spots” aren’t just soft, they might have a little space in between. Thus the pain. Since I’ve been saying for weeks now that I feel like my pelvis is being torn in two and nothing’s been mentioned about it by my doctor, I didn’t really think anything of it yesterday morning when I had the trouble walking. Yeah.

Apparently this effects how you can position yourself to sleep at night. Literally the ONLY place in the house (and I tried them ALL last night) is on the couch in that half sitting/half laying position is comfortable enough for me to fall asleep. Not fun. But, like I keep telling myself, it’s progress! Keeping my eye on the prize and knowing that I’ll be holding him soon will get me through anything, I’m sure!

I think that’s it for this week. We’ve already talked about my boobs. We’ve talked about my progress towards labor. I showed you my belly. Yep, that about wraps it up for me! I’m getting SO excited!!!!